Joseph W. Cotchett

Cotchett has spent much of his long and distinguished career battling fraud and corruption, and he's still going strong.

He's encountered quite a rogue's gallery.

In 1990, he successfully tried the case against Charles Keating in the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association scandal and almost two decades later secured an in-jail interview with Bernard Madoff, convicted of perpetuating one of the largest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history.

Cotchett had sued Madoff, his family and several banks on behalf of some of the victims in a case that is still ongoing.

"I cut a deal with his lawyer," Cotchett said. "I would get a four-hour interview with him if I let his wife and sons out of my lawsuit."

After the first three hours of the interview, Cotchett said, "It was clear to me that he was bullshitting me."

Then, after Cotchett threatened to cancel his deal, Madoff spent the last half-hour laying out the details of his scheme.

"He gave me the story about the deals and how he was laundering money to London," Cotchett said, still steaming over the fact that regulators had failed for years to heed the warning signs and stop Madoff.

All of these rogues, Cotchett said, have a common characteristic.

"They're sociopaths with no moral fiber," he said. "Thank God they don't represent society in general. They are a small part, but they take a very big chunk out of the fiber of society."

Indicted into the National Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame last year, Cotchett has continued to take on high-stakes litigation throughout the country.

He also is representing U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., in her case against First California Bank for the loss of $5.2 million from her campaign account.

She alleges that the bank overlooked years of fraud by Kinde Durkee, who had served as her campaign treasurer.

"We believe some of the insiders were getting benefits to look the other way," Cotchett said.

He will be taking depositions from bank personnel in the next few months, Cotchett added.

Does he ever get discouraged by all of the fraud?

"I was a ballplayer as a young boy," Cotchett said. "It's not how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you got up. That's what it's all about."

- PAT BRODERICK